Revealed - the 25 best places in Sussex to live

Do you live in one of the top 25 places in Sussex?

Published:08:05Friday 08 December 2017

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New research, revealed today, has pinpointed the best places in Sussex to live.

Using various ctiteria, such as education, safety, noise, grocery, lifestyle, public greenspaces, and transport, property technology startup OneDome has ranked the top 25 places to live in Sussex with its Locality Reality mapping tool, which scores postcodes out of ten based on their local amenities.

With its many schools, shops, restaurants and bars, Brighton comes out on top.

*This survey is based on postcode data so Brighton and Hove have been scored as two towns rather than as one city.

All data is collated from over 70 publicly available data points, such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and then crunched using several algorithms to generate the scores.

Babek Ismayil, founder and CEO of OneDome, explained the results: “Brighton scores highly as it has so much to offer, from Churchill Square Shopping Centre and The Lanes, to a variety of practical amenities. It might be surprising not to see some of Sussex’s quaint, picturesque towns and villages feature. However, this list ranks places on broad appeal and the ability to tick as many practical boxes as possible, especially factors that many homebuyers look for in their search.”

Using the same data, but cross-referencing it with Land Registry data on average prices paid for property in the postcode, here are the top ten areas below the £300,000 threshold to avoid stamp duty.

1 Eastbourne (BN21) £239,666

2 Worthing (BN11) £256,433

3 Hastings (TN34) £244,963

4 Crawley (RH11) £289,727

5 Bexhill-on-Sea (TN40) £209,616

6 Newhaven (BN9) £253,005

7 Littlehampton (BN17) £248,181

8 Fairlight (TN35) £265,676

9 Lancing (BN15) £288,560

10 Bognor Regis (PO21) £268,095

Ismayil added: “The research highlights some good areas where first time buyers will likely be able to avoid stamp duty altogether. There’s coastal living with plenty of local amenities, while for commuters, Crawley is only a 40-minute train journey into London Victoria.”

The mapping tool also allows homebuyers, renters and the curious to compare not just overall scores, but individual scores for transport, schools, lifestyle and so on. Users need only type in their postcode into the online tool to find out their Locality Reality score.

“These lists are based on average scores for the postcode areas, so it’s worth putting in your own precise postcode in our Locality Reality mapping tool to see exactly how where you live compares.”

Ismayil added: “The aim of the Locality Reality is to help steer people in the direction of areas that meet their needs. Of course, discovering the right area is a decision made by the heart as well as the head, so it’s always best to go to an area in person to find out if it’s truly right for you.”